DIVISION 6 STATE SEMIFINALS – FRIDAY, 11/29 7:30 PM – WAPAKONETA HARMON FIELD Wayne Trace (12-1) VS Mechanicsburg (11-2) Game Notes: This is the first ever trip to the state semifinals for either team. Ohio Heritage Conference teams have never played a Green Meadows Conference team in football since the OHC began in 2001. Preview: Mechanicsburg is looking to make school history on Friday, while denying Wayne Trace to make school history of their own. Neither the Indians nor the Raiders have ever been this far in the playoffs, therefor neither team has played for a State Championship. That will change on Friday when one of these two teams will advance to the Division 6 State Championship to take on the winner of Kirtland and Bishop Ready. Head Coach Kurt Forrest has led his Indians into this unchartered water and that means a lot to the fourth-year head coach, “To be the first coach to lead Mechanicsburg Football to the ‘Final Four’ is very special to me. Mechanicsburg Football has been a part of my life since about the fourth grade when I was the water boy, then playing football here in Junior High and High School and being on teams that didnt win a game, to making the playoffs for the first time in school history as a senior. Then coming back and being an assistant coach before becoming the head coach…I have seen Mechanicsburg Football through every set of eyes possible. “ The Indians advanced to the State Semifinals after a thrilling 34-28 win over conference foe West Liberty-Salem last week. Mechanicsburg overcame a 15-point deficit with just over five-minutes to play, before sending the game into overtime and winning in double OT. “Last week’s game proved to me what I thought about this group of kids all year,” said Forrest, “they are fighters and never lost faith in each other. They will fight together until the very last second to keep their football family alive one more week.” The Indians fought together and fought hard, coming up with defensive stops and timely passes in the Regional Championship. According to Forrest, “both teams left it all on the field and represented themselves and the OHC very, very well.” Wayne Trace (12-1) is coming into the State Semifinals playing their best football of the season. The Raiders drilled Ada last Friday night 68-14 to win their school’s first ever Regional Championship. The Raiders have only made the playoffs one other time (2005), but their postseason inexperience has not shown this year. Wayne Trace is beating opponents to the tune of 53.3 – 16.3 points per game in the playoffs. The Raiders have scored 40 or more points in 11 of their 13 games, 50 or more in 7 of their 13 games, 60 or more in 5 of their 13 games and had a season high 80 points scored in a Week 5, 80-0 shutout over Holgate (2-8). Led by standout dual threat Senior Quarterback Colby Speice, the Raiders are electrifying offensively. Coach Forrest described the offense, “Wayne Trace is a spread football team that spaces the field out to throw the ball. They have three or four wide receivers that can go the distance on any given play. Their QB is a dual threat kid that has had one heck of a year and runs their offense well. They look a lot like Triad on offense for folks familiar with the OHC, they just go 5 wide more than the Cardinals.” “One heck of a year” is almost an understatement when describing the 6-3, 200-lb Speice. During the regular season, Speice threw for 3,132 yards (over 300 yards per game) and 40 TDs. Last week against Ada he tied a state record with 9 TD passes; throwing for 534 yards (he added a 10th TD, a 72 yard TD run in that game). Over his last two seasons, Speice has thrown for nearly 6,500 yards and 90 TDs. Speice, who will throw on nearly every down, does have a favorite target, Korbin Showalter, who during the regular season caught 54 passes for 1,129 yards and 16 touchdowns. While all of those statistics are impressive, there are weaknesses to every team. For the Raiders, it’s most certainly the fact that they will turn the ball over and Speice will throw interceptions. He threw 22 of them in the regular season alone. Matching up with an Indians defense that has allowed only 103.5 passing yards per game and has intercepted 18 passes (Strong Safety Luke Marsh leads the Indians with 7 picks on the year), Wayne Trace is probably facing one of the most sound secondary’s they have all season. Coach Forrest knows that the Indians’ pass defense will be the key to this game, “In order for us to win the game we have to keep the ball in front of us and not give up the big plays they are accustomed to making. We have to control the ball and clock to limit their possessions and create some big plays when the opportunity presents itself. Turnovers, blocking, and tackling will also (be keys to victory).” The Indians will look to establish their running game against the Raiders and control the tempo of the game with it. Led by Junior standout Aeryton Erwin, who has rushed for a school record 2,131 yards and 28 TDs and a veteran offensive line consisting of 4 seniors and 1 junior, the Indians have the tools to do just that. In the event that the running game is slowed down, the Indians will rely on a freshman Quarterback who plays much more mature than your average 9th grader. Kaleb Romero is only the 3rd Quarterback in Mechanicsburg history to throw for over 1,000 yards, amassing 1,118 passing yards and 13 passing TDs. The freshman is also dual threat, as he has rushed for an additional 948 yards and 9 TDs. Brandon Purk, who was a key to Mechanicsburg getting past WL-S and advancing to this game, has caught a team high 37 passes for 760 yards and 9 touchdowns. Friday’s game will be played at Wapkoneta Harman Field, the same place where a week ago the Indians held up their team’s first ever Regional Championship trophy. Mechanicsburg is familiar with this field, and while Coach Forrest likes that they’re familiar with it, he doesn’t see it as an advantage, “With the game being played back up at Wapak I think that our kids will be comfortable with the surroundings and atmosphere and have a lot of positive vibes from last week, but we will be the visitors this time so it will be a little different. As far as that being a competitive advantage I dont see that once the ball is kicked off. All fields are the same size and both teams will be ready to go. “ It has been a magical season for Mechanicsburg, a team with quite a tradition since the turn of the millennium. The first 3 seasons for Forrest have been tough, but he’s turned the Indians around and this team is something special. Coach Forrest knew that he had a great group coming into the season and isn’t surprised by this team’s fight in these 2013 playoffs, “This playoff run has been extremely important to the team and the coaches because it has validated everything we have done and believed in. This proves that if you stick together, trust, and love each other and do whatever is best for the team then great things will happen. Its one of the most unselfish groups of kids we have every had that just love playing together and when kids put the team first in everything that is very special in todays world.” The coaches, the players, the townspeople of Mechanicsburg…they’re fighters. Fighters do what it takes to win, and continue to win until there is nothing left to win. The Mechanicsburg community has rallied behind these boys and the return of “Rock ‘Em” football. “The town is decorated in purple and gold, we have had police and fire escorts in and out of town for our last couple of games, which looks a lot like a scene out of a movie,” said Forrest. “To see how much joy this team has brought to so many people has just been a great, great experience for all involve. I know these boys will fight like crazy to make sure we get to keep this football family together for one more week!” “One more week”…all of Champaign County, the entire OHC…we are all rallying behind the Indians; cheering on the purple and gold for “one more week.”
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:12:04 +0000
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